


One Last Time

by sonataofsilence



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Acceptance, Gen, Ghost Drifting, Grief/Mourning, Post-Canon, Tumblr: jaegercon, maybe a little bit of comedy, this is mainly friendships but if you want relationships then you may use your imagination
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-08-17
Updated: 2013-08-23
Packaged: 2017-12-23 19:06:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/930014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sonataofsilence/pseuds/sonataofsilence
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She glanced down at the floor, but quickly raised her eyes back up to him, almost stubbornly.  “It’s about what the Marshal said to me, on the final mission.”</p><p>“He said you could always find him in the drift,” Raleigh said, instantly.  Those words had been burned into both his and Mako’s memories.  They would have even if the two of them had not been drifting at the time.</p><p>“Yes.  And I have been thinking that I want to try it.  To find him.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tumblr user messypeaches](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=tumblr+user+messypeaches).



> Sooooo, this is my very first fic. I've been tempted to write fanfics before, but this movie, ugh. So beautiful. Mainly because of the human relationships were just so well written and acted out. So when Jaegercon started, I jumped in and signed up for the gift exchange. And this is kind of the result of what was requested. Except I don't know if I'll have this done by the deadline. BUT I WILL TRY.

“So, Raleigh,” began the tv show’s host, his smile bright. “What are your plans?”

“My plans? Uh, right now, just answering your questions.” 

Amused laughter and chuckles floated up from the audience sitting on set. The host leaned forward in his chair and tried again. “Come on, now. The war’s been over for nearly two months. You must have something in mind. You can’t keep appearing on show after show forever, after all. Soon you’ll run out!”

Raleigh pasted on a smile as he spoke. “You might want to tell them that. They just won’t stop asking!” His response drew more laughter from the audience.

“Probably because they can’t get the lovely Miss Mori to come,” said the host, surprising Raleigh by moving on to a different subject. Maybe he was just taking pity on the ‘war hero.’ “We’ve asked her to come on several times, but she never can. Have you stayed in touch with her?”

This time, his grin was genuine. “Yeah. I’m actually meeting up with her after the show to catch up.”

“Oh, so she’s in New York? You should have brought her on with you.” The host continued to chatter and ask the same questions every other show’s host had asked him, and Raleigh just tried to wait patiently for the end of the interview.

\----

After the show, Raleigh grabbed a taxi and headed over to the hotel where Mako was staying. She was sitting in one of the many chairs that dotted the hotel’s lobby, her hands resting in her lap as she waited. He walked over, and she stood with a smile when she saw him.

“It’s good to see you,” she said, giving him a small nod of respect.

Raleigh returned the nod, and then opened his arms. She stepped forward, and they shared a brief hug. As they stepped apart, he said, “I’m surprised you decided to visit so soon. I thought you’d be really busy back home.”

Mako’s expression became very solemn. “I’ve been thinking, Raleigh,” she started, but she fell silent as he held up his hand.

“This is something big, isn’t it?”

“It is just something I want to try,” she answered. 

“But I know that look. I’ve been inside your head, remember? I can tell this is something big.”

“Maybe,” Mako admitted. “But right now it is only an idea. Although we should probably find a better place to discuss it.”

Raleigh considered her for few seconds. She had the same expression as when she had told him about her desire to pilot a jaeger that first day in the Shatterdome. He had seen a great deal of determination in her eyes that day. Whatever her idea was, he knew she would do everything she could to make it happen. “Central Park?” he suggested, but Mako was already shaking her head.

“Too public. I’ve already checked in. We can talk in my room.” 

It was definitely going to be something big, if she wanted to speak somewhere that private. A thought occurred to him. “This has something to do with the war, doesn’t it?” he asked.

“Yes. It may be over, but it has affected us greatly. Even now,” she whispered, her voice trailing off somewhat.

Raleigh took a breath in, and exhaled slowly. He had spent nearly his whole life acting in response to how the war affected him in different ways. Ever since that first attack on San Francisco, the war had shaped his life. And Mako was right. It was still shaping it. 

“Alright,” he agreed. “Lead the way.”

He trailed behind her as she headed towards the elevators. Within a couple of minutes they were standing outside room 945 as Mako unlocked the door with her key card. After her formal, “Please come in,” he entered and glanced around the small hotel room, which was as plain and uninteresting as most hotel rooms. Spotting a desk chair, Raleigh took a seat and looked up to see Mako already sitting on the bed across from him, waiting.

“Your idea?” he prompted. “What does it have to do with the war?”

She glanced down at the floor, but quickly raised her eyes back up to him, almost stubbornly. “It’s about what the Marshal said to me, on the final mission.”

“He said you could always find him in the drift,” Raleigh said, instantly. Those words had been burned into both his and Mako’s memories. They would have even if the two of them had not been drifting at the time.

“Yes. And I have been thinking that I want to try it. To find him.”

Raleigh stared at her. “Mako, I don’t think… That might not even be possible. Even if you find the tech you need to drift, there’s no promise—”

“I know. But I must try,” Mako insisted. “I need to say good-bye. And… so do you.”

He looked away from her then. “Yancy,” Raleigh murmured, his voice dull.

“Yes.” They were both silent for several minutes, until he gazed back at her. Seeing his serious expression mirrored in her own, he spoke again.

“You really think it’ll help both of us?”

“You’re not doing anything but going on tv shows to talk about your part in a war that has ended,” Mako pointed out. “You said you wanted to look forward and stop living in the past, but you aren’t doing that. You need this as much as I do.”

Raleigh grimaced at her assessment. She was still brutally honest, and he still appreciated it. “Fair enough. Alright, but what about the tech?”

“I can ask Mr. Choi,” she replied briskly.

“Do you even know where he is? Or how to reach him? Because I haven’t heard from Tendo.”

“I’ve emailed him already, and I’m just waiting for a response. I’m going to stay here until then.”

Raleigh had to smile slightly at that, unsurprised by her actions. “Thorough as always, Miss Mori.”

She returned the smile, although her eyes were a little sad. “Thank you. But what about you, Mr. Becket? Will you drift with me one last time?”

He shut his eyes, and the all too familiar memory of Yancy’s death flickered behind his closed lids. Raleigh felt his throat constrict. He thought he had come to terms with it, but after seeing Mako again he wasn’t so sure about that. She had been right about how he lived in the past. Somehow the world hadn’t ended, and now he did have a future. But he also had no direction. Even if this wasn’t possible, at the very least he would be doing something other than going on every single talk show produced. And if it was possible, maybe he could apologize. Opening his eyes, Raleigh saw Mako staring at him intently.

“I’m in.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tendo stared at the computer screen, mouth slightly open. Mori-san’s email had been surprising at first because he hadn’t expected to hear from her. But now he was more shocked by the content. What she was suggesting sounded like something from a sci-fi novel. Grimly, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed her number.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing Newt and Hermann is insanely fun. Also I have a headcanon that Tendo knows Mako really well, because she was obviously around with Stacker a lot. So he calls her Mori-san too, like Stacker would.
> 
> I know this chapter's kinda short, but there'll be more soon! I hope to have this fic finished in the next few days. Keep your fingers crossed!

Tendo stared at the computer screen, mouth slightly open. Mori-san’s email had been surprising at first because he hadn’t expected to hear from her. But now he was more shocked by the content. What she was suggesting sounded like something from a sci-fi novel. Grimly, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed her number.

“Hello, Mako Mori speaking.”

“It’s Tendo. I got your email, and…” He trailed off, suddenly uncertain how to continue.

“I know it’s a chance,” Mako said, filling in the silence. “But that doesn’t mean I should not try at all.”

“I’ve never heard of anything like it. I’m not sure the drift will work that way. It’s a sharing of minds. Of thoughts, emotions, and memories.”

Mako persisted. “Which means I could maybe find him in my memories.”

“That would require chasing the rabbit,” countered Tendo.

“Correct. As long as Raleigh and I aren’t piloting a jaeger, there should be no problem.”

Tendo fiddled with his bowtie absently as he frowned in thought. “Wait, you really are planning to chase the rabbit on purpose? Even if you do, you won’t be able to interact with or change the memories. You’ll just relive them.”

“Maybe. Like I said, I know it is a slim chance, but I have to take it.”

“Why are you always like this?” he groaned. “Look, at least talk to Newt about it okay? Since he drifted with the kaiju, and they have a hive mind, he might have an idea or hint or something that will help. The guy’s crazy enough.”

“Where is he?”

“Last I heard? On the lecture circuit, dragging Hermann along with him. I think he’s headed for Dartmouth?”

“Thank you. I will start looking for him.”

“Yeah, um, good luck. And tell Raleigh I said hi for me?”

“Of course. Good-bye, Mr. Choi.”

“Bye Mori-san.”

\----

“C’mon, smile some more Hermann!” Newt said, enthusiastically slapping the other man on the back as the two of them toured Dartmoth’s campus, looking for the building they had been told to go to in order to check in with the university’s faculty.

Hermann glared at him, his posture and personality as stiff as ever as he grumbled, “We are here for work, not to show off. Putting up with groupie with groupies of his own is _not_ what I had planned to do with my incredibly valuable time.”

“Hey man, this is _Dartmouth_. It is every bit as cool as Oxford,” Newt grinned, no longer phased by his colleague’s insults. “Besides, I know you’re gonna have fun. I mean, there are plenty of math professors here for you to chat with. You can all sit outside pining over your beautiful numbers as I blow everybody’s minds. Y’know, with _science_.”

Hermann merely shook his head and looked skyward as if praying for patience. But Newt knew that he wasn’t actually mad. Ever since they had drifted together with the kaiju, somehow they had become friends. Sure, they still bickered some—fine, a lot—but there was hardly ever any heat to it now. He just really enjoyed teasing Hermann, okay? The man made the funniest expressions.

“Look,” he continued. “We are the very first and last to drift with a kaiju. We’re bigger than rockstars! We’re like, legendary! Oh, hey, there’s the building.”

“The only thing big here,” retorted Hermann, “is your ego.”

“Birds of a feather, dude. Just sayin’.” They climbed (or hobbled up in Hermann’s case), the steps, their banter continuing as they entered the building together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My tumblr:
> 
> sonataofsilence.tumblr.com
> 
> Please feel free to comment or give me asks!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It had been three days since he saw Mako and agreed to help her, with almost nothing for him to do to pass the time. This meant he had been able to use most of that time to think over everything Mako had said, as well as what she hadn’t, without being distracted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Past the halfway point now! More is on the way!

Raleigh’s dinner for that night was a simple vegetable soup that had came from a can and been heated up in his own small hotel room. He set it down at the small table in the room, and after sitting in the room’s only chair, tested it. It tasted like salty broth, and little else. But that was to be expected. After all, the world was still recovering from the war, and had to continue rationing its food.

Thinking about the war automatically dragged his thoughts back to Mako. It had been three days since he saw Mako and agreed to help her, with almost nothing for him to do to pass the time. This meant he had been able to use most of that time to think over everything Mako had said, as well as what she hadn’t, without being distracted. Not that the very simple soup he was methodically eating ate was much of distraction. 

She had been subdued, even when she spoke with such determination over her idea. It was obvious, from her suggestion alone, that she was grieving. But Raleigh was relieved to see her trying so hard to move on. Move on to what, he wasn’t sure. He didn’t know what she had been doing since they parted at the end of the war. Hopefully, it was something more than what he had been doing. 

Whatever it was, it didn’t matter now. Seeing Mako again had made him realize that he had missed her a great deal. Raleigh regretted not staying in touch with her during those two months, and promised himself not to lost touch with her again. She had drifted with him, and become one of the most important people in his life. Meaning that he needed to make sure she was a part of it. She mattered as much as Yancy, and he needed to stop ignoring the effects they had on him and his life.

At that moment, his cell phone began to ring from his pocket. Placing the spoon in the bowl, he pulled out his phone and checked the caller ID. It was Mako. “Speak of the devil,” he muttered to himself before answering. “Hey Mako. Any news?”

“Yes. I just finished speaking with Newt. He’s in Dartmouth after all, just like Mr. Choi suggested,” she answered. It could have been Raleigh’s imagination, but she sounded a little happier than when he saw her a few days ago.

“Great. What’d he say?” His heart clenched a little with nerves. He really wanted this to work out, mainly for Mako. It didn’t matter that it was unlikely. As long as she had her chance to try it, that’s all he cared about.

“He’s with Dr. Gottlieb, and they’ll both run some tests and do some research on it over the next couple of days. Then we’ll join them, and take it from there.”

“Sounds pretty vague. And what about Tendo?”

“He is going to join as soon as he can get away from his job. As for the vague instructions, Newt was the one that came up with them,” she responded.

“I can tell,” chuckled Raleigh. “Why can’t he just call us? Why are we going all the way over there?”

“Whatever they find, we are still going to try and drift,” Mako explained. “And we are doing the experiment at Dartmouth.”

“The university is letting us do this?” His eyes widened as the words slipped out before he had even noticed he was saying something. “That’s nice, especially on such short notice.”

He heard Mako exhale in silent laughter on the other end, and smiled to himself. It was a good sign. “Newt said he had a space, but I did not hear him mention anything about the university’s permission or approval,” she said lightly.

“And let me guess, you ‘forgot’ to ask?”

“It happens to the best of us.” Raleigh began laughing at her words, and Mako joined him. It was a sensation he had been missing. Unwilling to take it for granted, he made sure he savored the simple joy of the moment.

Once the short moment had passed and their laughter had faded, he refocused and asked, “So when exactly are we leaving?”

“Four days from now,” replied Mako, her tone more business like. “I’m planning on flying over.”

Raleigh grunted his agreement. “Good plan. I’ll fly too.”

“Is it enough time for you to get ready?”

“It’s more than enough, Mako. Have you made any flight or hotel reservations yet?”

“No, but I am looking online right now.”

“Oh then if you don’t mind, why don’t you text me the info when you decide? That way we can travel together,” suggested Raleigh. “That okay with you?”

“Sure,” she assented. “I don’t mind.”

“Thanks Mako. I appreciate it,” he responded, his voice warm with gratitude. It was one less hassle for him to deal with. “Does that cover everything?”

“I think so. Good night, Raleigh. See you soon.”

“Bye Mako.” He replaced his phone in his pocket and returned his gaze to what was left of the vegetable soup. Maybe it was having a goal to work towards or maybe it was just the hope this whole project gave her that helped Mako with her grief. Either way, he didn’t care since it seemed to be working. She definitely sounded better than she had three days ago, although the difference was slight. 

As for himself, Raleigh hadn’t really noticed anything yet. He did notice that he was impatient to finish eating so he could start packing, although he suspected that was mainly the result of having very little to do for a few days. Shrugging it off, he carried the remainder of his dinner over to the room’s microwave and reheated. He decided time would tell eventually, but in the meantime, he’ll focus on what’s in front of him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I also have a tumblr! Feel free to let me know what you think, ask questions, or just chat!
> 
> sonataofsilence.tumblr.com
> 
> This was a slow, quiet chapter, but it was necessary to set stuff up. Don't worry, I have plans for these lovely characters!

**Author's Note:**

> I also have a tumblr! Same username.
> 
> sonataofsilence.tumblr.com


End file.
